Bruce Furst

Bruce Furst Resident of Oakland age 61, passed away unexpectedly but peacefully on June 6. Bruce was born on October 21, 1949 in New York, to Herbert Furst and Judith Halpern. He is survived by his wife Vickie, his son Brett, his mother Judith Grogins, his step-mother Sandra Furst, his brothers Joel Furst, Jay Furst, and Danny Grogins, his sister Sheryl Furst Heier and too many nieces, nephews and cousins to name. Bruce grew up on the East Coast and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a BS Degree in Business. Bruce played on the Colorado soccer team as a midfielder and also served as the captain of the team. An avid and accomplished skier since childhood, Bruce spent many days on the Colorado slopes in between his studies and soccer commitments. Upon graduation, Bruce moved to Northern California where he began a career in teaching and accounting. Bruce taught in a number of public high schools in the Bay Area prior to establishing a local accounting practice. For better than 40 years, Bruce coached school and club soccer teams at just about every youth age level. He experienced the joy of coaching his son's Montclair Soccer Club teams and moved on to coach many Bay Oaks Soccer Club teams. One of Bruce's girls' teams won the Northern California state championship and he took another girls' team to the finals of the state championship. He also took one of his boys' teams to the semi-finals of the state championship. More than the championships, Bruce leaves a legacy of positively influencing the lives of every player he coached, the parents of his players, and all the other coaches he mentored. Bruce was a naturally gifted teacher and not only did he teach soccer, he taught all he touched how to compete, how to both win and lose graciously, and how to be a good teammate. There will be a private memorial service on Saturday, June 11th, and a celebration of Bruce's life will be held later this month at a date to be announced. For more information on the upcoming event, please go to http://BruceFurst.blogspot.com. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: EBUSC-Bruce Furst Scholarship Fund and mailed to 6114 La Salle Ave., Suite 424, Oakland, CA 94611. The scholarship fund will aid low income soccer players as they pursue their passion for the game.